Many have listed some great options for you.
For $1000 -$1100 these are the options i see for you. There are respectable dealers you can these online for at that price.
Denon AVR-2808
Onkyo TX-SR875
Yamaha RXV1800
Sony STR-DA4300ES
Pioneer Elite VSX-92TXH
If HDMI is a connectivity issue than i would eliminate the Denon because it has only 2 inputs. The Yamaha and Onkyo have the most with 4 inputs so those would be your choices.
As far as video processor, i dont think its even an issue anymore. Most people will be sending 1080i/p through to there displays from high performing sources (Oppo, HDDVD,Blu-ray) so what are you left needing to upconvert? VCR?
Yes the Onkyo has the Reon chip, but it was shown in a professional review to not perfrom as well as a Reon based DVD player. In fact, it had distorted the image that required the TV to be adjusted! Also from i have read the Onkyo has some audio delay (not sync) issues with HDMI sources and also runs very hot.
So my final choice would be the Yamaha 1800, based on HDMI connectivity.
If 3 HDMI inputs are enough, then the choice is harder.
Although I am not a huge fan of Sony, i actually have owned or own 2 of there receivers and they are very easy to use and have great sound. There have been many positive reviews on the new Sony ES line.
From my experiece with owning 3 different Denon receivers, is that there sound is catered to music more than home theater, and Sony is catered to hometheater more than music. Again this is all just audio jargon. The Sony has an excellent on screen menu system like the Denon.
I dont think the others in the group can match Denon or Sony GUI menu sytem.
But any of the above are prime candidates. Personally I like Denon, and I'm waiting for an update on the AVR-2808 with more HDMI inputs, but if had to chose right now, surprisingly i would pick the Sony